JPH04332322A - Air conditioner equipped with perfume generating functions - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to maintain a constant concentration of perfume in the air for long time by housing an aromatic in a draft passage, installing a controller which controls the volume of perfume, and a control means which operates as the integrating time for the operation of a generator is prolonged and increases the aperture area of the controller. CONSTITUTION:A vessel 17 is provided with a stopper section 19 which is engaged with a latch 18 which repeats a locking motion and an unlocking motion every time it is depressed, and opening sections 21 and 22 where a number of small holes 20 for perfume passage are formed. An aromatic housing vessel 17 is installed to a perfume generation device 15 in such a fashion that it may be removed freely, which makes it possible to remove only the aromatic housing vessel from the body 2. It is possible to maintain the concentration of indoor perfume over a specified range even when the diffusion speed of perfume from an aromatic, such as perfume beads varies by changing opening time equivalent to each region by way of integrating operation time or integrating operation frequency where an aromatic mounting time is defined as reference time.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner equipped with a fragrance generating device.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventional air conditioners are equipped with electric dust collectors or dust collection filters to improve indoor air quality, and are capable of removing tobacco smoke, pollen, dust mite droppings, etc. from the indoor air. has been commercialized. but,
Currently, there are no other additional functions available for home air conditioners, and there is a demand for new additional functions from the perspective of improving the comfort of living spaces. On the other hand, the psychological effects of aromas are becoming increasingly clear, and there are cases where aromas improve work efficiency and accuracy.
A system that introduces fragrance into offices has been put into practical use.

[0003] Furthermore, from the viewpoint of improving the comfort of a living space and the refreshing effect, a system in which a fragrance generation function is added to a home air conditioner and the fragrance generation is controlled by a signal from an operating remote control is extremely effective. As a conventional technology for an air conditioner equipped with a scent generating device, there is
Publication No. 13733 discloses an air conditioner with an aroma function, which has a recess in which an air freshener can be stored on the lower surface of the outlet grill of the air conditioner main body, which has a heat exchanger and a blower, and a door that can open and close this recess. has been done.

[0004] However, as shown in FIG. 7, fragrances can be created by using an aromatic composition comprising, for example, an aromatic agent and a plastic such as EVA as a holder, silica gel, calcium silicate, unglazed ceramics, sintered metal, etc. When scent is generated by dispersing the agent, the dispersion rate decreases as the cumulative amount of scent dissipation increases with elapsed time. In other words, if a filled container containing an aromatic composition such as scented beads is used with a constant opening time, the amount of scent generated will increase because the scent dissipation rate is high when the scented beads are new, but the amount of scent generated will increase over time. Since the scent dissipation rate of the product is slow, the amount of scent generated is small, and the amount of scent generated changes with the usage time.

As shown in FIG. 8, the indoor scent concentration is C1.
~C2 (μg/L-air), the opening time of the container filled with scent beads is kept constant (t1
), the fragrance concentration in the indoor air will gradually decrease.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned air conditioner is characterized in that (1) the amount of fragrance produced decreases and the fragrance disappears as the usage time of the air freshener increases, and (2) the user can arbitrarily close the door. (3) Because the air conditioner opens and closes, it is difficult to maintain a constant concentration of fragrance in the air. (3) The recess for storing the air freshener is located in the air conditioner itself, which is generally installed at a high place, making it difficult to replenish or replace the air freshener. (4) It is difficult to clean the recesses to which fragrance beads and other fragrance particles have adhered; (5) Since the air fresheners are stored in the recesses outside of the ventilation path, the fragrance It has problems such as difficulty in spreading. The present invention solves these problems and provides an air conditioner with a scent generating function that can keep the concentration of scent in the air substantially constant over a long period of time.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problem] As a result of intensive research in view of the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have developed a heat exchange room in which a heat exchanger and a blower are arranged in the airframe, and an electrical equipment room in which electrical components are arranged. In the air conditioner equipped with the above-mentioned air conditioner, a ventilation passage connecting the heat exchange room and the outside of the aircraft body is provided, and a scent generator containing an aromatic agent and equipped with an aroma amount regulator is detachably provided in the ventilation passage, and the above-mentioned The regulator is provided with a control means for increasing the opening area of the regulator and/or a control means for lengthening the opening time, which operates as the cumulative operation time of the generator becomes longer, thereby increasing the concentration of fragrance in the air. The present invention has been completed based on the discovery that it is possible to provide an air conditioner with a scent generating function that can maintain the scent substantially constant over a long period of time.

[0008]

[Function] This air conditioner is provided with a fragrance generator in which an air freshener is removably housed in the ventilation passage and is equipped with a fragrance amount regulator, and the regulator has a long cumulative operation time. Since the control means for increasing the opening area and/or the control means for lengthening the opening time of the regulator are provided, which operate as the temperature increases, the concentration of fragrance in the air can be kept substantially constant over a long period of time. Moreover, since the fragrance generator is provided with a removable fragrance storage container, the fragrance storage container can be attached to and removed from the air conditioner.

[0009]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the examples unless it departs from the gist of the present invention. In Figures 1 and 2, 1 is an indoor unit (air conditioner) of a separate air conditioner, which includes a body 2, a front cover 3 attached to the front of this body, and a suction air conditioner attached to the front of this cover. A housing is formed from the panel 4. 5 is a wind direction changing blade provided at the air outlet 7;
8 is a release button for the suction panel 4. By pressing this release button, the lower end of the suction panel 4 moves obliquely upward by the force of a spring (not shown) within the housing, and the suction panel 4 is opened. The pre-filter 9 is removed with the suction panel 4 open.

[0010] Also, inside the fuselage 2, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a heat exchange chamber 1 in which a heat exchanger 10 and a blower (not shown) are arranged.
2 and an electrical equipment room 13 in which electrical equipment 11 is arranged. This electrical equipment room 13 has a gap on the back side of the fuselage 2, and there is also a gap because the partition plate 14 does not completely partition the heat exchange room 12 and the electrical equipment room 13. Therefore, the electrical equipment room 13 serves as a ventilation path that connects the outside of the fuselage 2 and the heat exchange room 12. A fragrance generating device 15 is disposed on the lower side of this electrical equipment room 13.

Furthermore, in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes an aromatic agent storage container that is detachably attached to the scent generating device 15, and this container is made of a resin material with high solvent resistance, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinylidene chloride, or the like. The container 17 has a locking part 19 that locks with a latch 18 that repeatedly locks and releases the lock each time it is pressed, and a small hole 2 for scent passage.
Openings 21 and 22 in which a large number of 0's are formed, and the aromatic agent 2
A pivoted lid 24 is provided for putting in and taking out 3. The aromatic agent 23 is formed into a bead shape. As the aromatic agent 23, a molded article of porous material such as calcium silicate, unglazed ceramics, silica gel, or sintered metal, or a composition of EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate polymer) beads or the like and an aromatic agent may be used. good. The fragrance generating device 15 is provided with an opening/closing mechanism 27 that closes a passage inside the device 15, a storage section 28 for storing the container 17, and a space 29 for storing an interlocking rod, which will be described later.

The opening/closing mechanism 27 includes a door 31 that blocks the entrance 30, a door 33 that blocks the middle of the passage 32, an interlocking rod 34 that connects both doors, and an actuator that provides a driving force for opening the door 31. an actuator 35, an actuating plate 37 that is moved by the actuator 36 of this actuator, and this actuating plate and the door 3.
1, and when the actuator 35 operates, the two doors 3 open as shown in FIG.
1. Door 33 opens.

[0013] In the air conditioner configured as described above, since the aromatic agent storage container 17 is removably attached to the fragrance generating device 15 (see arrows in FIGS. 2 and 4),
Only the fragrance storage container 17 can be removed from the body 2. Therefore, it is very easy to refill the container 17 with the aromatic agent 23 or to clean the container 17 that is contaminated with fragrance particles or the like in order to replace the aromatic agent 23 with another aromatic agent. Moreover, if a plurality of containers 17 are prepared in advance and different fragrances are placed in the containers, it is possible to enjoy different scents each time a different container is used. Furthermore, since the fragrance generating device 15 is provided in the electrical equipment room 13 which serves as a ventilation path, the fragrance of the aromatic agent 23 is transmitted to the heat exchange chamber 12 along with the air passing through the fragrance generating device 15 (see the arrow in FIG. 3). The air is carried inside and blown out from the air outlet 7. In this way, since the aromatic agent 23 is arranged in the ventilation path, the aromatic agent 23
The scent from the air spreads easily.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show an example of the present invention in which the opening time of the fragrance container is changed. That is,
Based on the time when the air freshener is attached, for example, T1 is determined by the cumulative operating time (T) or cumulative operating number (N).
(N1), by changing the opening time (t) corresponding to each region, such as setting the opening time (t1) of the aromatic agent filling container corresponding to region -1, the fragrance from the aromatic agent such as scent beads can be removed. It can be seen that the indoor scent concentration can be maintained between C1 and C2 even if the emission rate changes and becomes smaller. In this case, how to determine the number of regions, the absolute value of the opening time, etc. is not particularly limited and can be determined as appropriate.

[0015] Furthermore, the air conditioner of the present invention can be provided with a function of notifying when it is time to replace a fragrance bead or other aromatic agent by detecting T3 or N3. In another embodiment of the invention, the opening time (t
), it is also possible to maintain the fragrance concentration in the room between C1 and C2 by changing the opening area of the aromatic agent filling container corresponding to each region.

[0016] Opening/closing mechanism 2 provided in the fragrance generating device 15
7 is controlled according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Count the cumulative number of operations Nn, set the opening time tn corresponding to this Nn, and open the door (31) for the tn time.
(33) is opened to release the fragrance. Thereafter, the release of scent is stopped for a time tL corresponding to Nn, and then the release is started again. Nx is the maximum usable cumulative number of operations,
When Nn becomes Nx, a buzzer or light is used to notify the user to change the fragrance.

When a scent sensor is installed to detect the scent concentration in the room and control the concentration to be above C2 and below C1, the opening/closing mechanism 27 provided in the scent generating device 15 is as shown in FIG.
It is controlled according to the flowchart shown in . If the concentration detected by the scent sensor is C1 or higher, the scent release is stopped,
If the same concentration is C2 or less, fragrance is released and the same concentration is controlled to be more than C2 and less than C1.

[0018]

Effects of the Invention As described in detail above, the air conditioner with a fragrance generating function of the present invention is provided with a fragrance generator in which an air freshener is housed in the ventilation path and equipped with a fragrance amount regulator. is provided with a control means for increasing the opening area of the regulator and/or a control means for lengthening the opening time, which operates as the cumulative operation time of the generator becomes longer, so that the concentration of fragrance in the air can be reduced. In addition to being able to maintain a substantially constant level over a long period of time, the fragrance generator is equipped with a removable air freshener storage container, so the air freshener storage container can be attached to and removed from the air conditioner. The storage container can be removed from the air conditioner, making it easy to replenish and replace the fragrance, and to clean the container.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of essential parts of an air conditioner showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an air conditioner showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view of a fragrance generating device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the opening/closing mechanism of the fragrance generating device according to the embodiment of the present invention is in operation.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a scent storage container of a scent generating device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating changes over time in scent diffusion rate.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing changes in indoor fragrance concentration when the opening time of the fragrance bead-filled container is constant.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing changes in indoor fragrance concentration when the opening time of the fragrance bead-filled container is changed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of setting the fragrance bead filling container opening time from the cumulative operation time or the cumulative number of operations.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the control mechanism of the opening/closing mechanism of the fragrance generating device.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the control mechanism of the opening/closing mechanism of the scent generating device when equipped with a scent sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Air conditioner 10 Heat exchanger 15. Fragrance generator 17. Air freshener storage container 23. Air freshener 27 Opening/closing mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner in which a fragrance generator containing an aromatic agent and equipped with an aroma amount regulator is disposed in an air passage in a main body in which a heat exchanger and an air blower are built-in, the air conditioner comprising: The scent generating function is equipped with a control means for enlarging the opening area of the regulator and/or a control means for lengthening the opening time, which is activated as the cumulative operating time of the generator becomes longer. Air conditioner.